


Finding Each Other

by TheonnaQueen



Series: Witchy [3]
Category: Ghost Adventures (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:54:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9466286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheonnaQueen/pseuds/TheonnaQueen
Summary: The last two lockdowns have tried the crew. Will they be able to recover and move forward? Or will it cause their newest behind-the-scenes member to leave?





	1. Chapter 1 - The Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> Ana (Anastasia) is my original character, she has a much fuller backstory and how she first became involved with the Ghost Adventures Crew will be revealed later on in the series. I needed to get this out so I could focus on world building again.

The tension in the RV has palpable. They had just complete filming at the Old State Penitentiary in Utah and were on their was back to Vegas.

Ana was sitting at the RV table staring into space, looking shell shocked. Her glasses were on the table in front of her, highlighting the dark bags under her eyes. She was unconsciously braiding and unbraiding her hair.

Aaron leaned forward from the back seat to slap at Zak's arm "You need to talk to her, G."

Zak glanced back at Ana and took in her glassy stare and the growing pile of stray hairs on the table. Zak let out a quiet sigh.

"Switch seats with me."

Zak made his way into the booth to sit next to Ana. She didn't notice him until he placed a hand over her’s to still the constant braiding motion. Ana jumped as if shocked but remained silent with her eyes downcast.

"You need to leave some hair on your head."

"Sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have sent you in there alone, not after all the activity that happened during the walk through."

"Makes good TV though." Ana said with a mirthless laugh. Zak frowned at this and made a move to put his arm around her but decided against it at the last moment.

"You will feel better after you sleep some. I want you to lay down and take a sleeping pill."

  
Ana frowned at this and shook her head "I don't want to take any pill."

"You need to sleep!" Zak said, raising his voice but softened it at Ana's wince "How about half a pill? Just enough to take the edge off to help you sleep?" She agreed to this, took the offered sleeping pill, and crawled into the back bed area. Zak watched her get settled under a blanket and fall asleep almost immediately. He sat back in the seat and let his mind drift back to the events of the last 48 hours.

**_Flashback_** ....

Lockdown day started like any other for Zak. He had breakfast with the crew and went over the plan for set up.

He checked in with Ana to confirm that there were no additionally interviews and that everything was set for the 7pm lockdown.

After breakfast they all went their separate ways. Billy, Jay, Ashley, Aaron, and Ana went to the Penitentiary to begin setup. Zak, Bacon, and Jeff (the researcher) stayed at the rental.

About noon, Aaron's hyperactivity arrived back at the rental and Zak decided to take a walk and mentally prepare for that evening.

As he was walking, Zak let his mind wonder. (Zak's thoughts) " _On the surface everything looks alright but something is still off with Ana. She better not still be upset over the last lockdown in Kansas. She legitimately saved us that night and it was weeks ago! Maybe I shouldn't have shouted. Maybe I should have talked to her about it but it's been too long now. I don't want her to quit. I can’t mess things up with her. Fuck, I don't know how to not mess it up with women."_

That thought made Zak stop in his tracks. He noticed that it was getting late and he should head back to take a quick nap. He resolved to figure things out with Ana after they got back from this investigation.

He never did get his nap, Jeff was excited when he arrived back at the rental.

"Another witness came forward. I think you need to talk to her. She claims she was thrown." Jeff announced. "She agreed to meet us at the Penitentiary at 6."

"Great! Finally something more than things that go bump in the night." Zak remarked in excitement.

The witness was an attractive, skinny woman with long jet black hair. She was wearing a local ghost hunters t-shirt. Aaron could tell that Zak was laying on the charm for her and rolled his eyes at Billy from behind the camera.

"So, Melissa, tells us about your experience." Zak prompted for the interview.

"I was here with a group and we were up on the second floor walkway of cell block B. Doors started slamming and really freaked everyone out because we had tried to move those doors earlier and they are solid steel so it couldn't have been the wind."

"You said you caught an EVP?" Zak asked

"Yes, and was so scary we left and I haven't been inside since. I have it on my phone, if you want to listen to it." Melissa finished with a flourish.

Zak held the phone to his ear and listened intently. A very faint EVP was heard. "That sounded like 'told you scream'?"

"I told you to scream" Aaron interjected excitedly "Creepy, dude."

"This happened after the doors slammed?" Zak turned back to Melissa.

"Yes. I did some research and there was an inmate in Cell Block B from the 40’s who had tortured and murdered several women. We think it might be him." Melissa finished with a shudder. Zak thanked her and turned around to notice Ana standing just out of camera range, wide-eyed.

"I can see why no one was answering the walkie-talkie. Bill you said you would be watching!" Ana said.

Zak picked up on a little bit of hysteria in her voice and asked "What happened?"

"I was making sure everything was clear, adjusting cameras, like always. I was almost done on the second floor walkway of Block B, and doors started slamming. I thought it was a person but when I walked back no one was there and then a door slammed from almost where I was before. I tried to move those doors and I can't. No one living was there. Check the video, it has to be on there. I couldn't get anyone on the walkie-talkie." Ana finished with an almost indistinguishable shake in her voice.

"That is almost that exact same thing that happened to me." Melissa piped up.

They all trooped over to rewind the footage.

_Video Footage:_

_Ana was walking along the 2nd floor walkway, shining her flashlight into cells to check for intruders, when a cell door slammed behind her, causing her to jump and whirl around. They could just barely pick up her voice on the static boom mic._

_"Who's there? If you are living, you're not supposed to be here and need to leave. I don't care why you're here you just need to come out and follow me down." Ana called out._

_Getting no response she walked back down the walkway to where the noise had come from. "If you're a spirit, you really need to wait for the guys. They're the ones that wants to talk to you." Again, a door slammed from behind Ana._

_She rushed back down the corridor, but again found nothing. She then tried calling Billy on her walkie-talkie but couldn't get a response. "What the hell are they doing?" She said out loud._

_End footage_

"Did you see the orbs when the doors slammed!?!" Aaron excitedly asked.

"Pretty active already. Hmm. Ana would you be willing to stay and go back up there during the lockdown? The spirits seems to like you." Zak asked for the camera.

Ana didn't look completely comfortable with the idea but agreed to stay. Zak can be rather persuasive and usually gets what he wants.

**_End flashback_ **

Movement from Ana pulled Zak into the present. She appeared to be having a nightmare and was kicking in her sleep. Zak glanced up at Aaron who had turned around at the noise and noticed the tears in his eyes. Aaron was obviously still upset about the part he had played last night.

Zak made a move towards Ana's sleeping form but she settled before he fully stood up. He could only guess what she was dreaming and it probably wasn't good. He thought about saying something to Aaron but knew anything he said would sound hollow. Nothing anyone said after a possession could make you forgive yourself.

 

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2- Lockdown: Utah Old State Penitentiary

As much as he didn't want to revisit “the Incident” that led them to this state, Zak let his mind drift back to the previous night to try to figure out where it all went wrong.

  
_Flashback_  
In preparation for sending Ana, alone, to cell block B, they mic'd her, gave her a voice recorder, hand-held camera, and made sure her walkie had fresh batteries.

Zak narrated for the camera "This is Ana who works for us to help with lockdown preparations. Earlier she was making sure there was no one in the penitentiary and stirred up some activity. We're going to send her back there alone to see if we can capture it on camera. We'll be monitoring you." He finished looking at Ana

Ana looked paler than usual "And if something happens?"

"We'll be watching and come running if something happens. I won't let Zak leave you in there." Aaron said with a reassuring pat to Ana's arm.

She nodded and began making her way to the location in the dark. The guys watched her progress on the static night vision cameras.

"I know you're still pissed at her after Kansas but do you have to be so cold to her?" Billy asked Zak

"I'm not pissed! She had activity happen, it only makes sense to send her back up there." Zak was rather defensive in his response. Billy and Jay shared a look.

Aaron was intently watching the video feed "Jay, what happened? Did we lose audio?"

"What? Shit, it must've drained the battery packs."

They all leaned closer to view Ana on the video screen. She had made it up to the 2nd floor of Cell Block B and gone into the cell where she had the experience before, the camera was in the hallway but was shooting into the cell. She was sitting on the floor and appeared to be conducting an EVP session.

They watched her react to some noise that was outside of the cell she was in. She then went back to focusing on, what they assumed, was her questions.

She suddenly looked wide eyed at the camera and shook her head, obviously reacting to something.

"I don't like that we can't hear her. What happened to the boom mic?" Zak asked Jay.

Before he could respond, Aaron started shouting "We have to get her now! She was just shoved! I saw it!" He made a move to run up to the 2nd floor.

"Let's go!" Zak echoed in a panic. They both ran out of the room and made it to Ana's location as quickly as possible.

They found her visibly shaken. Zak went over and hauled her up from sitting on the floor to wrapping her in a hug "It's ok now." He whispered so only Ana could hear "What happened? We lost all the audio as soon as you came up here" He asked for the cameras sake as he moved her out onto the walkway.

"I saw you get knocked over! What happened?" Aaron asked

"It felt like someone was pulling me back. Like their arms were around my shoulders trying to, to, to manhandle me or something. Like mug me or something" She responded shakily.

"You said you didn't have audio? I was asking questions and I swear to you, I heard with my own ears! A deep voice said 'Scream for me'!"

Zak was visibly angry at hearing this. He took a digital recorder and walked into the cell Ana was just removed from.

"You like scaring women?! Well you have to deal with me now! Come on! Do something to make me scream!" Zak taunted the ghost

"I don't think he should go in there. It's not safe." Ana whispered to Aaron as he filmed Zak in the cell.

"Aaron? Aaron? What's wrong?" Ana felt a shift in Aaron's demeanor and was immediately concerned. She reached out to touch his arm to shake him out of whatever was happening to him.

"I like when they scream. They all scream in the end." A strange voiced Aaron responded to Ana. He suddenly made a move to get his hands around her throat. Luckily he was carrying the camera and didn’t have both hands free. He only managed to grab her by the shoulder and shake her. At this Ana did begin to scream.

Billy and Jay in nerve center were observing the events unfolding. They were just able to pick Ana up on Aaron's mic. In a panic Billy radioed Zak "Aaron is attacking Ana! He is attacking her!" since he knew Zak probably heard the scream but wouldn't be able to see well in the pitch blackness.

"What?" Zak shouted and ran out of the cell. He saw Ana struggling and she was able to knock the camera off Aaron's shoulder. This seemed to momentarily distract him and allowed Ana to shake free from his grasp. Zak rushed in and grabbed Aaron and shoved him against the wall away from Ana. "Aaron! Aaron, come on man!" Zak shouted as he wrestled with a seemingly superpowered Aaron.

"Get him out of here! We have to get out!" Ana wheezed in a near panic from the floor.

"Are you OK? Ahh, Aaron come on! Snap out of it!" Zak continued to wrestle with Aaron  
"We have to go!" Ana repeated

Finally, Zak saw the reasoning behind this and was able to push a still fighting Aaron ahead of him towards the stairwell to get them away from the cell blocks. As soon as the reached the top of the stairs, Aaron appeared to snap out of his daze.

"What? What happened?" Aaron asked as his legs gave out and he sat down hard on the top step.

"Just, let's just get to nerve center." Ana pleaded carrying both camera. Jay remarked in nerve center that Ana's mic was again recording and they watched Zak help Aaron up and the three of them climbed down the stairs.

On the short walk back to Billy and Jay, Zak stayed between Aaron and Ana, he didn't want to risk a repeat occurrence. Aaron just kept shaking his head and mutter "what happened? Why can't I remember what happened."

After what felt like a lifetime for Zak, they arrived back at the nerve center tent on the prison lawn.

"Dude! I feel like I can't go in there! What the hell?" Aaron asked panicked

"Calm down, dude. Just take a seat, we'll figure it out." Zak said taking charge when he saw Ana visibly shaking, obviously going into shock.

He ushered her into nerve center and was about to turn around to help Aaron when he heard her cry out. Luckily he was just able to get his arms around her shoulders before she collapsed to the ground.

  
Everyone was shouting at once but Zak was focused on Ana. He shifted her in his arms to get her in a more comfortable position and leaned over to whisper "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I should have got you out first then dealt with Aaron. I'm so sorry."

Ana quickly jerked awake. "What! What happened? Why am I on the ground? Aaron! Is Aaron ok?" She finished her questioning and then seemed to recall what happened, causing here to bury her head in Zak's chest, clutch tightly at his sweater, and begin sobbing. Zak rocked her and made soothing noises as all other activity in nerve center ceased.

After her sobs had subsided, Zak tried to answer her questions. "You fainted, that's why we're on the ground. Lucky you didn't hit your head." He made no move to let go of Ana or move to a chair. "Aaron is outside. He was possessed and tried to attack you." Zak said in a soft voice to not distress Ana further. "He says he feels like he can't get in here"

"The circle won’t let anything in if it not safe.”

“Circle? What circle? Why is there a circle?”

“I try to create a safe space before I leave lockdowns. It’s a salt circle for protection; to create a safe spot. It’s not strong but better than nothing. It should let Aaron in. Unless…”

“Unless, what?” Billy piped up

“Unless it wasn’t safe to let him in, in his state.” Zak finished

Ana finally roused herself from hiding her face in Zak’s chest. “Let me up. I need to talk to Aaron.”

“Don’t go out there.” Zak warned.

Ana ignored this and walked over to the tent doorway to talk to Aaron, who was sitting just outside the door in some distress. Again Billy and Jay shared a concerned look as Zak hung his head.

“Aaron? Aaron? It’s ok. I need you to focus. Remember when we practiced meditation? I need you to focus and push the negative energy back into the Earth. Focus on you and your inner peace. Remember the small spark? Focus on that.”

“I can’t Ana! I can’t! I don’t remember what happened but I feel like I wanted to hurt you!” Aaron cried.

“Shush. It’s ok. Focus on removing the negative energy. Find your center. It’s hard for you to sit still; pace if you need to.”

Aaron got up to start pacing and following her directions. “Feel the negativity leave you.” Ana coached him through an exercise to recenter himself and rid the negative attachment. 

This surprised the others, since Aaron usually just waits out the attachments. "Maybe Ana is good for us all" Zak thought

After what felt like forever, Ana could see the weight lift off of Aaron and see him begin to relax. “Why don’t you come inside the tent now?” She suggested.

The exercise obviously worked because Aaron had no trouble crossing the tent threshold. Zak, still worried, made sure to keep himself between Ana and Aaron, there was no way he wanted a repeat of the incident.

“What now?” Billy asked “Should we pack up?”

Zak looked at his crew, at how shaken they were and was about to speak but Ana piped up “You shouldn't stop because of me. I shouldn’t even be here” she trailed off.

Aaron cut in “No. We can’t run from this thing. But I’m not going back up to that second floor. That’s the worst area, the other locations weren't so bad.”

“Ok. But no one goes alone. Ana I don’t want you back in there at all. You stay here and monitor nerve center, since we’re locked in. Ok?” Zak reached out to squeeze Ana’s shoulder, causing her to hiss in pain. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just where I was grabbed.”

“By the spirit? Aaron asked. Ana shook her head at which Aaron bowed his to hide the sudden tears.

“Let me see.” Zak demanded. Ana complied pulling off the one arm of her sweater “Shit.” There was a very distinctive purplish bruise in the shape of fingers on her shoulder. “Let's put some ice on that.” Zak moved away to rummage through the the cooler to put together an ice pack.

“Aaron. It’s not your fault I bruise so easily.” Ana said, placing a hand on his arm “I trust you Aaron. See this bruise?” She lifted her pants leg “that's from getting out of the van earlier. I have fragile skin.” She finished with a smile, causing Aaron to give a sad smile as well.

The rest of the night passes without incident. Ana stayed in nerve center and monitored the cameras and the crew avoided Cell Block B. At dawn Bacon showed up to drive them back to the hotel. He picked up on everyone's tense mood and they had a silent ride back; everyone lost in their own thoughts.

_End Flashback_

Zak thought about checking on Ana before he laid down but he was overcome with exhaustion and passed out almost immediately. He was still kicking himself for that now, 12 hour later, as he watched Ana sleep in the back of the RV, at a lost as to what to do next.

 

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3 - We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Zak, seeing that they were still about three hours from home, let his mind slip back to when the trouble started with Ana. It had not been a great month for her and Zak knew he played a big role in it, he needed to figure out where it all went wrong, what signs he missed.

“Aaron” he called out to the man sitting in the passenger seat of the RV “what do you remember happened in Kansas?”

“During the ritual?” Aaron looked at him doubtfully. Zak nodded his head. “Why?”

“I need to figure this out. She hasn’t been right since then and I don’t know if I trust what I remember from that night.”

“You overreacted! Like you always do! It’s not always about you!” Aaron all but shouted but lowered his voice as he noticed Ana tossing in her sleep “She only ever tries to help, dude you're going to fuck it up.”

“Then tell me what you remember!” Zak threw back

“Fine.”

“We were investigating that run down orphanage in the middle of the freaking prairie and there were reports of witches doing rituals on the children. You had that great idea to see if we could find a local coven to have them do a ritual to recreate what happened.

Ana had been jumpy that whole day, something about the children or maybe the location was freaking her out, I don’t know.”

Zak cut in “It was because she hadn't told us she was a witch and that the coven could expose her.”

Aaron took a deep breath here and glared at Zak “It's no wonder she didn’t tell us! You're always carrying on about how evil witches are and how they are involved in satanic rituals. She’s Wiccan! It's a religion Zak! Would you be this pissed if she was Muslim or Jewish?! And how is she different from Jay?”

“She could be doing spell's on us! Making us do things or feel things that aren't good or what we want!” Zak countered

“It is totally fucked up that you would even think Ana would put a spell on us! You said it yourself you feel calmer around her! That your spirits are quiet! Why do you think that is a bad thing? Zak, it’s not normal that the spirits talk to you all the time! It’s not right!”

“Is that what you think? That I put a, a, a love spell on you?” Their shouting had obviously woke Ana up. “You think it's like in the movies? Just like ghosts are in the movies right?” Ana finished bitterly and pulled the blanket up over her head. They could hear her crying but were both frozen in their seats.

“ _At least Zak looks upset.”_ Aaron thought as he turned around with a wince to face the windshield again.

“There’s a rest area a couple miles ahead. I need gas and why don’t we stop for lunch and everyone can cool down?” Bacon stated from the driver’s seat.

There was a long pause before Aaron replied “Sure.”

The atmosphere was silent and tense until the reached the rest area. Almost before the RV had rolled to a stop Ana was up and out the door, heading towards the restrooms. Aaron made a move to follow her but Bacon stopped him, “I’d give her a couple minutes.”

Aaron rounded on Zak. “You need to fix this Zak. I thought things were going good? That you were going to ask her out? That you spent most evenings together? Does what happen really change that?” Zak gaped like a fish out of water. “Well it's probably too late now.” Aaron finished with a roll of his eyes.

“Tell me what happened during the ritual!” Zak kept insisting.

Aaron heaved a sigh and made a move to sit at a picnic table, somewhere in view of the door so they wouldn’t miss Ana. “Fine, but no interruptions.” Zak nodded his agreement.

“I think from the moment we arrived, Ana knew something was wrong. Those were not the people she spoke to on the phone but their excuses about the woman being sick worked on you. You’re always going on about how you can read people. You totally fucked up this time.” Zak glared at the tabletop.

“I think it was suppose to just be a circle, no actually spells were going to be done, just something that looked good for camera. I don’t know when Ana knew something was wrong but it was pretty early. I saw her run back to the car and then make a wide circle. I guess she was drawing her own salt circle to keep everyone safe. You know how Bill hates to be in rituals but he listened to her and stayed put. He said it saved him from taking the full brunt of the spell.

Things happened really fast after that. Weren’t you paying attention?” Aaron answered his own question “No you were already under the spell, you only had eyes for the pretty redhead.

I remember Ana screaming something at them. It was enough to break their concentration and snap you out of it and start screaming at her. Eating those pistachios seemed to clear my head, somehow they broke the spell.”

Bacon broke in “Pistachios break love spells. She told me.” Aaron and Zak jumped; they hadn’t realized he had finished pumping gas and joined them at the table.

“Where is Ana?” Can you go find her?” Aaron asked Bacon, he wanted to finish the story uninterrupted. Bacon wandered towards the rest stop building in search of Ana.

Aaron could see that Zak was thinking over the news about breaking spells but he forged ahead in completing his tale “I don’t know how she did it, with you screaming at her about ruining things, but she managed to force the witches to close the ritual or she finished it, reversed it or something. It wasn’t until the actual women we were supposed to meet showed up did the others run away and Ana collapsed. Do you remember her collapsing?” Zak shook his head at this.

“No you were too busy shouting and trying to figure out who the new people were. It’s lucky Devon was close, or she would have fallen. I don’t think she actually fainted that time, just used up all her energy.

She saved us, Zak. Remember that voodoo priest and how long it took to break that spell? Ana didn't let that happen! Have you had any negative effects from that night? Besides being pissed at Ana and putting her in danger?”

At this Zak looked confused. Aaron gave him a minute to think it over. “No. I actually slept great that night, not even any nightmares. That...that never happens before lockdown.” Zak looked wide eyed at Aaron.

“Then you need to start treating her better! Forcing her to take a sleeping pill isn’t apologizing! You’re scared because you like her.”

There was as scoff behind them. Bacon had found Ana and they had joined them at the picnic table. Aaron pulled Ana into a side hug as she sat down.

“We got hoagies. Eat it or not, these were the only options” Bacon said as he distributed lunches. They ate lunch in silence, Ana kept her eyes on her sandwich. Bacon tried to make conversation but gave up after getting no responses.

The rest of the drive to Vegas was quiet. Aaron napped in the back, Ana stared out the window not seeing the landscape as it went by, and Zak sat in the passenger seat, moodily clicking through Twitter.

Once back at the GAC offices, they unloaded the van with minimal conversation. Aaron left to get some coffee, Bacon drove Zak and the van to Zak’s house, and Ana was left, as usual to get the camera gear in some order for Billy to begin reviewing evidence in the morning.

It wasn’t until days later that Zak thought to check on Ana. He kept convincing himself that she was fine and that she would appear on his doorstep at 9pm like she always did with dinner to make sure he ate something and hadn't worked through the night. If he was going to be honest with himself, he was agitated at the lack of contact with Ana after two nights but convinced himself that she just needed some space.

It wasn't until the fourth evening had passed did he convince himself that he should go looking for Ana, to make sure she was ok. The next afternoon he went over the the GAC offices. He first checked in with Billy’s progress reviewing video and discovered Ana in the conference room on a video call with a GAC affiliated group in Maine.

“Did they have anything exciting to report?” Zak asked once the video went dark. Ana whirled around in the chair so quickly she was almost thrown to the floor. Zak reached out to steady her but all he got was air as she jumped up.

“Not much exciting but they’re willing to share the data they collected. I’m hoping to use it as a trial for the database.”

“That would be cool.” Zak said rather distractedly, surprising Ana because he was usually enthusiastic when the database was mentioned. “We’ve got a surprise lockdown this weekend. A family seems to be getting attacked by a demon in Arizona.”

“I’ll start getting the stuff together. Move some appointments around.”

Zak cut in before she could finish “I want you to sit this one out. It won’t be good for you go back out there after what happened last time.” Ana’s shoulders slumped and Zak wished he had the courage to say what he really meant - _I want to do a better job at keeping you safe and sending you into a possible demon infestation won’t do that._

Zak let the heaviness float in the air.

“Yes. Of course. Whatever you think is best, you’re the boss.” Zak frowned at Ana response and forced smile. “Are you filming for production or just to help? I’ll pull the lists together. When do you leave?”

“Just to help but we’ll need some cameras. We leave Friday morning.” Ana nodded at this and then wandered off to begin pulling together the equipment, since they were leaving in a little less than 36 hours.

To Be Continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some liberties with Jay and what religious leanings he might have. These are just my opinions that I have after watching the show, especially Goat Man's Bridge. No offense is intended.


	4. Chapter 4 - Late Night Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ana’s thoughts are in italics, Zak’s in bold

  **It's so late, almost 3am, I shouldn't wake Ana up. I can't do this in the daylight though. Damn it.**

*Knock. Knock.*

 _It’s_ _late, who could be knocking on my door at this hour?_

"Zak? Oh thank goodness, I have been so worried" Ana exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck in the doorway. Zak buried his head into Ana's hair and held her as best he could with his hands full of camera equipment and Gracie's leash.

He takes in Ana's sleep tousled curls, her oversized t-shirt and leggings before she crashes into him.

 **I don't** **know why I thought I could stay away from this. I don't want to let go.**

"Sorry, sorry, come in. No one would tell me what happened. I called your mother but she just said you needed to get out of town. I hoped you were OK since you had Gracie with you." Ana babbled out of relief from not knowing where Zak was over the past week. He had all but disappeared after the lockdown to clear the demon infestation in Arizona. She bent down to pat Gracie on the head to stop her whining at all the excitement.

"I...

You...

Can ...

You need to see this..." Zak was rather stilted and gestured at the camera.

 **God** **she short circuits my brain.**

"OK. Can you set it up?" Zak nods "I'll put some tea on, it'll help" Ana said.

 **OK. She is going to make tea. I need to settle down and be calm while she watches this. What if this ruins everything?** Zak thinks as he absentmindedly pets Gracie who sits at his feet.

Ana wandered through the dark apartment into the kitchen and turns the kettle on and lets her mind drift as she waits for it to boil.

_What happened? Why would he show up now? He looks so upset. I hoped going away would have helped. What won't anyone tell me about the past lockdown? Everything has been such a mess since the Kansas Orphanage._

The whistle of the kettle brought Ana back to reality. She filled a tray with mugs, honey, sugar, and carried it into the living room where Zak had queued up the video.

"Here, drink this" Ana handed Zak a mug and waited until he mixed the honey to his liking.

He took a small sip before saying "Just watch and listen. Tell me what you hear"

The video started playing. It was footage from one of the static night vision, x-cameras. The view was down a long hallway and captured Zak and Aaron doing a burst EVP session.

Instead of watching the video, Zak watches Ana. He takes in her messy, shoulder length curls, the way she clutches the tea mug and squints at the TV from behind her glasses. **What is she thinking?**

Video Footage:  
"Is there anyone here with us?" Zak asked the empty room on the video.  
"Are you upset with us in your space?" Aaron chimed in.  
"Was that you knocking earlier? Can you do it again?" Zak, again.

"...Love..." A very faint, audible, female voice could be heard.

"Dude! Did you hear that? That was not EVP!" Aaron exclaimed  
"Shush!"  
What are you trying to tell us? Love? Love what?"

"...Ana...you...love"

Zak stared wide-eyed at Aaron on the film. "What the fuck?"  
"Something you're not tell us, G?" Zak just stared back. "Review the recorder, maybe there is more."

The digital recorder was played back on screen and caused a visible reaction in Zak.

"Is there anyone in here with us?"  
"...A friend..."  
"Are you upset we're in your space?"  
"Was that you knocking earlier? Can you do it again?"  
"...No, knocking evil. ...[garbled] ... Love"  
"Dude! Did you hear that? That was not EVP!"  
"Shush!"  
What are you trying to tell us? Love? Love what?"  
"...Tell Ana you love her..."

The footage ended on Zak staring wide-eyed and confused at the camera.

**How could the spirit know that I love Ana? That I've been in love with her since almost the moment we met? That it has only been getting worse since she started working for GAC? That I can't get to close to people because they get possessed?**

Ana sat back on the couch without looking at Zak. "Play it again" Ana’s voice snapped Zak out of his daze. He obliged her and they listened through the entire sequence again. When it was finished they both sat in the dark, the tea growing colder.

**Shit, she looks upset. Maybe she doesn't feel the same way? Hell I'd already slept with the past 3 assistants by now. Does she know that? What is she thinking!?**

After what felt like a lifetime of silence, Ana shook her head, and abruptly stood up and took the tea tray into the kitchen.

Ana's departure shook Zak.

**Maybe I should have started by explaining things before showing the video?**

  
_What the hell!? Why would he run away after this? I knew something like this would happen when I took this job. People never fall in love with me. He obviously doesn't feel that way. Hell, I shouldn't feel that way, women in this job don't hang around long - now I know why. I'm so stupid._

Ana stopped fighting the tears she had been holding back the whole week and let them fall as she washed the tea mugs.

Zak got up and traversed the small dark apartment to the kitchen.

**Shit. She is crying.**

Zak walked up behind Ana and reached out a hand to lay on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to upset you. I just..."

By then Ana had dried her hands and turned in his arms to place her hands on his chest, creating a little space between them.

"Please let me still work for you. This is the best job I've ever had. I could work remotely, you wouldn't have to see me. I've been trying to help Aaron stay safe from the spirits. Can I at least stay until he is better?"

"What!?" Zak took a step back but kept his hands on her shoulders, causing fresh tears to form in Ana's eyes. "Leave? Do you want to quit?"  
A vehement head shake from Ana and he squeezed her into a hug. "Let's sit and let me explain."

He led her back to the darkened living room.

"Ever since we were at the Old State Penitentiary in Utah, I can't get you out of my head. The fact I couldn't protect you, kills me. And really ever since we first met, Aaron has been trying to set us up because he has always known how I’ve felt about you."

"Wha..? He has?" Zak nods at Ana’s half formed questions.

"Let me finish, this isn't easy.” He takes a big breath in “Every time I'm near you, I feel calm and safe, and the spirits are quiet. It's like this pure white light your aura gives off. Hell, even the jealous one is calm when I’m near you." Zak finished with a chuckle.

"I'm shit at relationships." Ana frowned at this and was about to protest but decided against it at the determined look on Zak's face to finish his speech.

"I thought that it would be fine to stay the way we are. Sometimes I've even thought you and Aaron might be together or you'd end up together, despite his efforts to hook us up, and I'd be ok with that because at least I'd still get to see you. But then I used you as bait in Utah and I realized holding you after you fainted that I didn't ever want to let go. I know it didn't seem that way to you. I was scared that I fucked it up. And it was easier to focus on how angry I was at the spirits and Aaron then deal with things. And then we caught this EVP and I couldn't deal because now I was confronted with the actual words. So I ran away." Zak fell silent and kept his gaze on his hands.

**Well I've royally fucked it up now. She is going to kick me out and quit.**

Ana reached over and placed both her hands on top of his "Why tell me this now?"

"I'm scared to death but I couldn't sleep this whole week. You're the best person I've ever had as a fixer and you literally saved us from being cursed and I've fucked up everything with all my relationships."

Ana squeezed his hands "Is this what it's about? You're worried about having to hire someone new?" She whispered bitterly.

"No!" He shouted shaking his hands free of hers to settle on her shoulders. He repeated more quietly "No, you are incredibly smart and beautiful and so brave. I don’t know how you alway get people to calm down or stop fighting without having raising your voice. And I don’t know how you put up with me or any of us, day in and day out; no one else has. And I really want to know what you do when we're not on the road, I want to see you cooking instead of just eating the results, learn what it means for you to be a witch, err Wiccan, and I want to show you off to everyone because you're beautiful." He dropped his hands back into his lap as he finished.

"I'm scared too. I know I'm not your type, everyone says so, and relationships don’t really work out for me. Plus I don't want to make our working relationship weird or make it awkward for everyone else." Zak took a breath but Ana shook her head and continued uninterrupted "I want to try though.” At this Zak surged forward and wrapped her into a tight hug.

"I want to do this right. Proper dates and getting to know you. Take it slow, there is no need to rush." Zak had finished with a yawn and felt Ana's smile in his neck at this.

"You haven't slept in ages and it late or early or something. Why don't you take a nap here? Sorry I don't have a spare room. We can talk more in the daylight?" Ana finished with a question.

Zak settled back on the couch. "You must be tired too, I woke you up." He finally noticed her tired look. He looked sheepish and said "Would you stay and nap with me?" Zak blushed

Ana smiled and nodded with a blush of her own.

It was a tight squeeze on Ana's small couch but they both felt the bed would be crossing a line. Eventually they got situated, their glasses tangled on the coffee table, mirroring their tangled limbs. Zak grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered them both. They were asleep within moments

Several hours later the buzzing of Zak's phone woke him. He dislodged Gracie from where she has climbed onto the couch at their feet but managed to snag his phone without waking Ana.

He had two unread messages:

Text from Bill: How are you? Are you coming into the office today? We need you to go over some footage

Text from Aaron: Daily check in! Returning today? Ana has been awfully upset...

Zak snapped a picture of Ana sleeping against his shoulder and sent it to Aaron and turned his phone off. He didn't want to be disturbed by Aaron’s rapid fire questions. He wrapped his arm more tightly around Ana and went back to sleep.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to do alternating POVs because I wanted to let Ana’s voice be heard. I’m not sure if I will use this in the future but I think it works ok here.

**Author's Note:**

> My first story!  
> Please leave constructive criticism and/or comments.


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